Method of producing mercury



7 Patented Aug. 2,1927. i l 3 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

warren camera, or Bnooxmm, new YORK.

iimnon or raonucme nectar.

No Drawing. Application med November 141,19. Sandi-Io; ($900.-

The present invention relates, as indicated, drochloric acid. Durin the reaction the to a method of producing mercury, and 1s mixtureshould be heated to a temperature particularly directed to an improved and of between 50 and '90 de es 0. 1n order economical method of producing mercury to hasten the speed of 1%:

ducing mercurous chloride, whichis comyield of mercury and also to promote t e monly known as caldmel To the accomspeed], The mercuricchloride and the merplishment of the foregoing and'related ends, ouric sulphate are both "in solution from said invention. then, consists f the means which the are removed, after or without 65 lo hereinafter fully described and particularly previous. 1 lt-ration,' upon the addition of pointed out in the claims. finely divided metal, which may be either The following description sets forth in iron, zinc, copper, aluminum, metal alloys, detail one approved met 0d of carrying out 01 in fact, practically any metal. The merthe inventiomsuch disclosed mode, however, 'curic'chloride and the mercuric sulphate are 70 constituting but one of the various Ways in both in solution and react with the metal which the principle of the invention may be which is present "to form an amalgam beused. p i I Htween'this metal and the mercury, and a In 'carrying out the present -method I chloride and a sulphate of the metal. V crush cinnabar ore to a fineness allowing it After the formation oithe amalgam be- 76 to pass a fine screen of 80 to 150 mesh and tween the mercury and the free metal presthen add to this finely crushed ore suliicient cut the amalgam "is removed from the soluwater to produce a thin paste, and to this tion, washed, andthen heated in a cast iron paste I add a suflicient amount of acid to still at a temperature suificient to drive off destroy the basicity of the mixture causedby, the mercury, say above 360 (3., the mercury 80 the possible'presence of any carbonates, hybeing collected in this way, while the metal droxides and the like in the origlnal rol is purified -from the mercury and may be The amount of acid needed is generally relaused over again in the process. tively small. However, the excess of acid Instead ofacting upon the mercuric h1 employed in themixture should be equiyaride and the mercuric sulphate, which are 85 lent to the amount of mercury present in the both in; solution, with metal to obtain the ore. To this acidified paste is now added a mercury in form of an amalgam, I may dehypochlorite of an alkalipr alkahneearth sire to produce calomel, which is mercurous metal, preferably a SOllltlOILOf S0d1l1m- 0l' chloride, from the mercuric chloride and the calcium hypochlorite; The reactions which; mercuric s'ulphate'solution. For this pura0 take place are, first, interaction between the i-pose I subject the mixture containing the '45 then decompose the sodium or calcium car- 5HgGl +HgSO,+5I-IgNO sodium hypochlorite and the acid which, for mercuric chloride and the mercuric sulphate instance, Will be considered as hYdlTOGhlOI'iQ Solution to filtration, in order to sepaacid, to give sodium chloride and nascent rate the insoluble residue consisting of rock chlorine. Inpractice I prefer to add hy-"i from this solution.- To this solution I now 95 'pochlorite solution to a but slightly acldified add a solution of mercurous nitrate in sufpaste of crushed cinnabar' ore and water and ficient amount to produce a formation of to liberate nascent chlorine from this mixture mercurous chloride according to the-followby means of carbonic acid, which is supplied ing equation: i 7 either as gas or as sodlum bicarbonate.

a v bonate formed by adding an amount of acid 10HgO1+HgSO,,+5NO -5O equivalent to the amounts of carbonates pro- 5 duced. The nascent chlorine actsv with the The mercurous chloride which is thus cinnabar ore to form mercuric chloride while formed is insoluble in the solution'and is 105 any excess chlorine reacts with water. to separated from the solution by filtration,

form hydrochloric acid and free oxygen, the then dried and purified by resublimation. 1 a

n I reaction, and i 5 from cinnabar ore and'at the same time proshould be agitated inorder to secure a high free'oxy en'combining with thefree sulphur The mercuric sulphate contained in the v produce to form sul huric acid anhydride, mother liquor from the mercurous chloride which, with water orms sulphuric acid. is acted upon by metal filings to obtam its up This sulphuric acid ,acts' with t e mercuric mercury content i the form of a metal chloride to form mercuric sulphate and hyamalgam as described above. 7

. the treatment with metal I believe to be' The reactions which take place in the mixture during the hypochlorite treatment and as follows:

The present process is simple and inexpensive and may be used to produce either 1 calomel and some metallic mercury, or metallic mercury alone at a considerable saving over the methods which are now in use. I have found that nascent bromine or iodine will act equally as well as chlorine in promoting the reactions described above for the formation of either the mercury amalgam or the calomel.

Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employed instead of the one explained, change bein made as regards the method herein disc osed, provided the step or. steps stated by any of the following claims or the equivalent of such stated step or steps be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention 1. In 'a method of extracting mercury from finely divided cinnabar ore, the step which consists in reacting upon such ore with a hypochlorite of an alkaline or alkaline earth metal and a metal, thereby liberating mercury and forming an amalgam with which consist in reacting upon cinnabar ore with a metal and a hypochlorite of an alkaline metal, then removing the resulting amalgam of the metal and the mercury and heating the same to free the mercury therefrom.

Signed by me, this 20th day of September, 192

WALTER GLAESER. 

